Reminds me of English ones that always pop up on facebook. Always 'learn the secret they have kept from......' hinting at divorce or such to get people to click then its ad claiming celeb used weight loss. Everyone from Kate (who made QEII angry by revealing how she lost baby weight ) to Dr Phil's wife and many in between.

Indeed wow! Even though the floor is sloping which makes it easier for her to be taller than usual, she really grew up a lot since Belgium National Day. It's wonderfull to see the younger royals become teens, I think it's the transition that we see more diferences growing up.

__________________♫A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.♥

The children of King Philippe are the first ones ever in the Belgian royal family to be completely at ease in Dutch. The future Queen (Princess Elisabeth) even needed remedial teaching on French language! That is smart policy: approximately 60% of the Belgians speak Dutch, 38% speaks French and 2% speaks German or another language.

You can see from the body language that the royals are completely natural in conversating with the people on this Open Bedrijvendag in the Dutchspeaking part of Belgium.

From what I understood, all children of the royal couple go to Dutch speaking schools. At home French is the conversation language. In this way the royal couple hope to raise their children perfectly bilingual.

He seems very interested about planes/helicopters and flight in general. I hope he will join the army and become a pilot just like his father when the time will come. It would be a smart move to balance the role within the royal family and the fact that he won't receive an allowance from it. He will be serving his country after all.

Princes Philippe and Laurent went to a Dutch Boarding School near Bruges.

Yes, but the basic language is formed in the childhood years. Until his 15th year the King went to the French-speaking Collège Saint-Michel in Brussels, followed by a short period in a Dutch-speaking boarding school. After this he went to the (then predominantly French-speaking) Ecole Royale Militaire in Brussels.

King Philippe and Prince Laurent speak better Dutch than any of the Belgian royals before them, but you can hear it is not their native tongue. No problem. The children of the King will probably speak accentless Dutch.

Yes, but the basic language is formed in the childhood years. Until his 15th year the King went to the French-speaking Collège Saint-Michel in Brussels, followed by a short period in a Dutch-speaking boarding school. After this he went to the (then predominantly French-speaking) Ecole Royale Militaire in Brussels.

King Philippe and Prince Laurent speak better Dutch than any of the Belgian royals before them, but you can hear it is not their native tongue. No problem. The children of the King will probably speak accentless Dutch.

What I hear from the Belgians is that Philippe's Dutch was rather poor when he was younger, but it has improved significantly especially since he became king.

Elisabeth must be like 5'9 by now teenage-hood has hit her really big this year

Yes it has. She will be a tall woman one day.

On a side note, I can't help but notice that she's dressed just like my 16 year old daughter from head to toe. Love that her parents have given her the opportunity to dress like any other teenage girl for these casual events.

King Philippe has purchased a Mercedes S600 Guard à € 400.000,-- There are a lot of (negative) reactions on that (see article), but that is unfair. The King is not extraordinary in this purchase. In neighbouring Netherlands both King Willem-Alexander and Princess Beatrix have an Audi A8 W12 for € 600.000,-- each. (The bigger prize tag is because these two Audi's are extended in length).

King Philippe has purchased a Mercedes S600 Guard à € 400.000,-- There are a lot of (negative) reactions on that (see article), but that is unfair. The King is not extraordinary in this purchase. In neighbouring Netherlands both King Willem-Alexander and Princess Beatrix have an Audi A8 W12 for € 600.000,-- each. (The bigger prize tag is because these two Audi's are extended in length).